Old-fashion clapboard-like wood siding system with ventilation gaps

ABSTRACT

The wood siding system has air circulation gaps between overlapping siding boards and between the siding boards and a supporting wall. The wood siding system has the appearance of old-fashion clapboards; a limited flexibility that closely imitates a solid wall, and metal retainers with installation gauge, and lips and ridges to control the direction of shrinkage and swelling of the wood boards to preserve the visual appeal of the wood siding. A wood grain pattern on the front surface of each siding board is a mirror image of a wood grain pattern on the front surface of another siding board.

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/872,010, filed Aug. 30, 2013.

FIELD OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The present invention pertains to the field of wood siding for buildings, and more particularly, it pertains to a wood siding system that has a relatively thin overlap, and ventilation gaps around every board to prevent a retention of moisture behind the wood siding boards.

BACKGROUND OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

An old-fashion wood clapboard is approximately ¼ inch thick at the lower edge tapering to a very thin top edge. Old-fashion wood clapboards were made to match the exposed surface and thickness of traditional cedar shingles. Wood clapboards were easier to install and to paint than shingles, and therefore this type of wall cladding became very popular during the last century.

Old-fashion clapboard-like siding is coming back in style with speciality wood products that are available at the present time. Wood siding products are being manufactured with stained or pre-painted wood boards, and with other torrefied or pressure treated wood products.

Experience gained with old-fashion clapboards, however, has dictated a number of improvements to be applied to the newer siding products. A first improvement is to install the wood boards without nail to avoid cracking the boards along the thin edges of the boards. A second improvement is to provide ventilation between the siding boards and the supporting structure to prevent the absorption of moisture into and behind the boards. Such moisture is known to cause expansion of the boards, wood decay and discolouration and blistering of the painted surfaces of the boards.

A search in the prior art has not given any suggestion for a contemporary wood siding system including all the desired improvements, while maintaining the appearance of old-fashion clapboards. As examples, the following documents describe the various siding systems that have been found in the prior art.

-   U.S. Pat. No. 2,276,170, issued to A. Elmendorf on Mar. 10, 1942; -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,292,984, issued to A. Alvarez, Jr., on Aug. 11,     1942; -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,308,129, issued to S. H. Tummins on Jan. 12, 1943; -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,354,639, issued to H. T. Seymour on Jul. 25, 1944; -   U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,143, issued to L. J. Newton on Mar. 15, 1960; -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,015,193, issued to J. Amoruso on Jan. 2, 1962; -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,229, issued to E. Weber on Mar. 16, 1965; -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,237,360, issued to T. W. Mills on Mar. 1, 1966; -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,261,136, issued to T. L. Abner et al., on Jul. 19,     1966; -   U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,378, issued to G. Kessler on Feb. 18, 1975; -   U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,644, issued to R. N. Weinar on Oct. 3, 1978; -   U.S. Pat. No. 4,281,494, issued to R. N. Weinar on Aug. 4, 1981; -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,501,050, issued to R. Ruel on Mar. 26, 1996; -   U.S. Pat. No. 5,564,245, issued to R. J. Rademacher on Oct. 15,     1996; -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,055,787, issued to M. Gerhaher et al., on May 2,     2000; -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,298,626, issued to E. P. Rudden on Oct. 9, 2001; -   U.S. Pat. No. 6,843,032, issued to S. Hikai on Jan. 18, 2005; -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,748,188, issued to T. Ito on Jul. 6, 2010; -   U.S. Pat. No. 7,797,902, issued to S. Hikai et al., on Sep. 21,     2010; -   US Publication 2002/0046536, by R. Hotta, dated Apr. 25, 2002; -   US Publication 2009/0241459, by B. Bryan, dated Oct. 1, 2009; -   US Publication 2010/0263316, by L. Bruneau, dated Oct. 21, 2010; -   CA Patent 1,283,522, issued to K. Kelly on Apr. 30, 1991; -   CA Patent 2,167,097, issued to R. Ruel on Dec. 14, 1999; -   CA Patent Application 2,290,914, by M. Watanabe on May 30, 2005; -   CA Patent Application 2,649,123, by J. Koessler et al., on Jul. 21,     2009; -   CA Patent Application 2,663,469, by L. Bruneau on Oct. 21, 2010.

In view of these documents, it is believed that there remains a market demand in the field of wood siding industry for a wall siding system that has the appearance and stiffness of old-fashion clapboards; which can be installed without nails through the boards, and which has aeration gaps between and behind the siding boards. More particularly, there is a market demand for a wall siding system that retains its appearance of high-quality old-fashion wood siding despite expansion or shrinkage.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

In the present invention, there is provided a wood siding system that has air circulation gaps between overlapping siding boards and between the siding boards and the supporting wall. The wood siding system has the appearance of old-fashion clapboards; a limited flexibility that closely imitates a solid wall, and means to control the direction of shrinkage of the boards to preserve the visual appeal of the wood siding.

In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wood siding system comprising upper and lower wood siding boards mounted to a supporting wall. Each of the wood siding boards has a front surface, a back surface, an upper edge; a lower edge, and a tapered cross-section. The lower edge of each board has an apron strip and a shoulder. The apron strip of the upper wood siding board overlaps the upper edge of the lower wood siding board. The apron strip of the upper wood siding board is held at a distance for the front surface of the lower wood siding board such that a ventilation gap is maintained under the apron strip and above the front surface of the lower siding board.

The back surfaces of the wood siding boards are held parallel and in a same plane with each other and at a same distance from the supporting wall, such that a ventilation space is maintained behind the boards.

The shoulder of the upper wood siding board is held at a distance from the upper edge of the lower wood siding board such that an air circulation gap is maintained between the upper wood siding board and the lower wood siding board. Because of these air circulation gaps, a good ventilation is maintained between and behind the wood siding boards, to keep the siding boards and the supporting structure dry.

Because the back surfaces of the siding boards are held parallel to the supporting wall, a relatively thin ventilation gap can be maintained such that the supporting wall provides a backing support to the siding boards for preventing excessive deflection in the siding boards. When a siding board is accidentally pushed inward, a slight deflection causes it to rest against the supporting wall, suggesting that the siding boards are part of a solid structure.

In another aspect of the present invention, a metal retainer is mounted between the upper and lower wood siding boards. This metal retainer has a gauge lip extending vertically and forming a spacing gauge between the shoulder of the upper siding board and the upper edge of the lower siding board for maintaining an ideal distance between the shoulder of the upper siding board and the upper edge of the lower siding board. Because of these metal retainers and gauge lips, the upper siding board is easily installed over the lower siding board, without the need for a measuring tool. The metal retainers are simply loosely placed and spaced apart along the upper edge of a first siding board and nailed to the supporting wall. The shoulder on the bottom edge of a next wood siding board is manually force-fitted down into the metal retainers, and the process is repeated for the next wood siding board.

In another aspect of the present invention, the gauge lip on each metal retainer has a sharp edge for penetrating the upper edge of the lower wood siding board during swelling of the lower wood siding board. The metal retainer also has a tight-fit ridge therein, extending along the shoulder of the upper wood siding board for retaining the shoulder into the metal retainer, during shrinking of the upper wood siding board.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, a wood grain pattern on the front surface of the upper wood siding board is a mirror image of a wood grain pattern on the front surface of the lower wood siding board.

This brief summary has been provided so that the nature of the invention may be understood quickly. A more complete understanding of the invention can be obtained by reference to the following description of the preferred embodiment thereof in connection with the attached drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a partial perspective view of the siding system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, under construction;

FIG. 2 is an end view of a wood board and a preferred separation thereof into two siding boards;

FIG. 3 is a first end view of a metal retainer that is used in the wood siding system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an end view of two siding boards in the wood siding system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of the overlap between the two siding boards as shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a second, enlarged end view of the metal retainer illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3-5;

FIG. 7 is an assembly of three extrusions snappily engaged to each other for shipping, handling and for cutting to length therefrom, a plurality of metal retainers.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The preferred embodiment of the wood siding system according to the present invention is described herein below with reference to the attached drawings.

Referring to FIG. 1, the overall arrangement of the preferred siding system is illustrated. The wood siding boards 20 have straight back surfaces 22 that are held in a coplanar arrangement with each other, parallel to the supporting structure 24. The wood siding boards 20 are held to the supporting structure 24 by spaced-apart metal retainers 26. The metal retainers 26 are preferably installed at intervals of 12 to 24 inches along the top edge of each wood siding board 20. A continuous length of metal retainer 26 (not shown) can also be used to support the bottom edge 28 of the lowermost wood siding board 20 on a wall.

Each wood siding board 20 has a tapering front surface 30 with a thicker lower edge. The lower edge has a shoulder 32, a slot 34 and an apron-like strip 36 formed thereon, on its front surface. The apron-like strip 36 herein after referred to as the apron strip 36 has the thickness of an old-fashion clapboard. This thickness is approximately ¼ inch. The apron strip 36 of one siding board 20 overlaps the upper edge of a lower siding board 20. The thickness of this overlap is the thickness of the apron strip 36 plus the thickness of an air circulation gap that is maintained under the apron strip 36. This air circulation gap will be explained later. The vertical length of this overlap is a same distance or slightly more than the projection of the overlap; that is ¼ inch plus the thickness of the air circulation gap.

The shoulder 32 has substantially a same thickness as the upper edge 38 of the siding board 20, such that when the siding boards 20 are mounted on a supporting wall 24, their back surfaces 22 are straight, coplanar and parallel to the supporting wall 24.

In order to further enhance the visual appearance of the preferred siding boards 20, pairs of grain-matching siding boards 20 are sawn from a single wood board 40 as shown in FIG. 2. For example, a one inch thick by 5½ inch wide board 40 can be profiled on a moulder and sawn by thin-kerf bandsaw along the saw line 42. The saw line 42 corresponds to the front surfaces 30 of both siding boards 20. It is believed that the aforesaid overall overlap projection 44 of about 5/16 inch or slightly more together with the board width of about 5½ inch, give the appearance of old-fashion clapboard siding.

The preferred method of sawing of siding boards 20 as illustrated in FIG. 2 produces pairs of siding boards with one board having a wood grain pattern that is a mirror image of the other. These mirror images are especially apparent when the boards are made of pine, ash or oak wood species for examples. These mirror images are referred to herein as “matching wood grain patterns”, and such “matching wood grain patterns” carry an impression of a carefully selected base material for manufacturing the preferred siding boards 20. “Matching wood grain patterns” technique is well known in the field of high quality cabinet making and furniture manufacturing. When applied to wood siding as explained above, this technique carries a similar attribute of quality craftsmanship.

Both boards in a pair of “matching wood grain pattern” boards follow each other closely in the manufacturing process and remain at close proximity of each other in bundles of wood siding boards delivered to clients. It becomes relatively easy for a carpenter to find boards in a same pair and install them at close proximity from each other to obtain the aforesaid high quality craftsmanship appearance. It becomes relatively easy for a carpenter to install each board above, alongside, staggered or in alternate row from its “mirror image” match for example, to obtain a “signature” or “trademark” siding appearance.

Referring now to FIG. 3, the preferred metal retainer 26 will be described. The metal retainer 26 is preferably cut from a bar of extruded aluminium profile. Several bars can be used in their full lengths to retain the lower siding board 20 on a wall as mentioned before. Bars of extruded aluminium profile are cut to individual short pieces as desired, to obtain metal retainers 26 of shorter lengths. Metal retainers 26 of two inches long, spaced apart twelve to twenty four inches are considered appropriate for most applications. Slightly longer metal retainers 26, say three inch length or more, may be used to support vertical joints in the siding boards.

Each metal retainer 26 has a H-like formation. This H-like formation is made of a pair of U-shaped cavities 50, 52 superimposed over one another with the bottom one 52 being oriented downward. Both U-shaped cavities 50, 52 have a same opening width. These U-shaped cavities 50, 52 are made to enclose the shoulder 32 and the upper edge 38, respectively, of overlapping wood siding boards 20.

Each metal retainer 26 has a backing structure 58 which is made of two superimposed C-shaped formations 60, 62. The top C-shaped formation 60 extends above the upper U-shaped cavity 50. The top C-shaped formation 60 faces forward and has a nail-guiding groove 64 therein. The top C-shaped formation 60 has sufficient depth to conceal the heads of nails that are used to fasten the metal retainer 26 to a wall 24.

The purpose of both C-shaped formations 60, 62 is to provide a backing structure 58 that has stiffening ribs and a sufficient thickness “A”. The thickness “A” is preferably about ⅛ inch. The thickness “A” of the metal retainer's backing wall 58 constitutes the thickness of the air circulation gap 68 between the siding boards 20 and the supporting wall 24.

The common front wall 54 of both U-shaped cavities 50, 52 is a planar wall with a thickness “B” of about 1/16 of an inch or slightly less. In use, the upper half of this front wall 54 is nested in the aforesaid slot 34, and the lower half of this front wall 54 constitutes a spacer to form an air circulation gap 56 between the apron strip 36 of one siding board 20 and the front surface 30 of the siding board 20 underneath. It will be appreciated that the air circulation gap 56 mentioned above extends between the metal retainers 26. The thickness of the front wall 54 is preferably kept at 1/16 inch or slightly less such that the total projection of the overlap 44 does not exceed about 5/16 inch, and such that the appearance of old-fashion clapboard siding is maintained.

The function of the upper portion of the front wall 54 and the associated slot 34 in which this portion is fitted, is to retain the lower shoulder 32 of the upper wood siding board to the supporting wall 24. The function of the lower portion of the front wall 54 is to retain the upper edge 38 of the lower siding board to the supporting wall 24.

The advantage of this installation is that the air gap 68 between the siding boards 20 and the supporting wall 24 can be maintained to a very small distance to prevent excessive or uneven deflection in the siding boards 20, should they be accidentally pushed against the supporting wall 24.

Referring again to FIG. 3, the lower U-shaped cavity 52 has a gauge lip 66 formed on the bottom thereof. This gauge lip 66 is used as a spacing gauge to obtain a proper spacing between the shoulder 32 of one siding board 20 and the top edge 38 of the siding board 20 below it. When a wall is being covered with wood siding boards 20, the metal retainers 26 are loosely placed on the top edge 38 of the last-installed siding board 20, and it is nailed to the supporting wall 24 without measurement.

The gauge lip 66 ensures that a proper air circulation spacing 70 is maintained between rows of siding boards 20 to allow for swelling of the boards in high humidity conditions for example. This vertical air circulation gap 70 between siding boards 20 also constitutes an air passage communicating with the air circulation gap 56 and the vertical gap 68.

The gauge lip 66 has a depth “C” that is a function of the total board width, and the potential swelling of each siding board 20. The gauge lip 66 has a relatively sharp lower edge for penetrating the upper edge 38 of a siding board 20 with ease, during swelling of that siding board 20, without splitting the upper edge 38 of that board.

Referring now to FIGS. 4 and 5, the air circulation gaps between and behind the siding boards 20 will be explained. Because the back surfaces 22 are held in a coplanar arrangement parallel to the supporting wall 24 at a very small distance from the supporting wall surface 24, an effective ventilation (without air flow resistance) of the siding boards 20 is achieved. The arrow 72 in FIG. 5, illustrates the air flow pattern through the air circulation gap 56, through the board spacing 70 and along the vertical air circulation gap 68 along the supporting wall 24.

Also because the back surfaces 22 are held in a coplanar arrangement, parallel to the supporting wall 24, at a very small distance from the supporting wall surface 24, an effective backing support against excessive bending or twisting is obtained. When a siding board 20 is pushed inward toward the supporting wall 24, it quickly touches the supporting wall 24 to prevent breaking or splitting of the siding board 20.

Another feature that is provided to enhance the visual appearance of the present wood siding system, is that the apron strip 36 of each siding board 20 overlaps the front wall 54 of a metal retainer 26 by a distance “D” as illustrated in FIG. 5, of about ⅛ inch. Because of this overlap “D”, the metal retainers 26 are not visible at a glance when looking at a wall made with the wood siding system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Also for the purpose of maintaining a high quality appearance of the wood siding, a tight-fit ridge 80 is provided along the inside edge of the upper U-shaped cavity 50. The purpose of this ridge 80 is to create a tight fit in the U-shaped cavity 50 for receiving and retaining by friction force, the lower shoulder 32 of a board inside the cavity 50. Because of these tight-fit ridges 80, the bottom edges of all wood siding boards 20 are held down relative to the metal retainers 26 for concealing the metal retainers 26 from view even when there is some degree of shrinkage along the height of the wood siding boards 20.

In another feature of the preferred metal retainers 26, the front wall 54 thereof has a width ‘F’ that is a same dimension as the width inside the C-shaped formation 62. As can be seen in FIG. 6, this C-shaped formation 62 has ridges 82 and 84 on respective edges thereof, for snappily receiving and retaining the front wall 54 of another metal retainer 26 inside the C-shaped formation 62, substantially as illustrated in FIG. 7. Several extrusion profiles 86 can be assembled together as a bundle as shown in FIG. 7, to facilitate the handling and shipping of the extrusions to a client, or for handling the extrusion profiles in a cut-off saw when manufacturing metal retainers 26 of a same length. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A wood siding system comprising upper and lower wood siding boards mounted to a supporting wall; each of said upper and lower wood siding boards having a front surface, a back surface, an upper edge; a lower edge, and a tapered cross-section; said lower edge having an apron strip and a shoulder thereon; said apron strip of said upper wood siding board overlapping said upper edge of said lower wood siding board, and said apron strip of said upper wood siding board being held at a distance for said front surface of said lower wood siding board; said back surfaces of said upper and lower wood siding board being held parallel and in a coplanar arrangement with each other and at a same distance from said supporting wall; and said shoulder of said upper wood siding board being held at a distance from said upper edge of said lower wood siding board; such that an air circulation gap is maintained between said upper and lower wood siding boards and between said upper and lower wood siding boards and said supporting wall.
 2. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 1, also comprising a metal retainer mounted to said supporting wall between said upper and lower wood siding boards, said metal retainer having a spacing gauge lip thereon extending between said shoulder of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board for maintaining an even mounting distance between said shoulder of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board.
 3. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said metal retainer has a front wall, and said lower edge of said upper wood siding board has a vertical slot therein between said apron strip and said shoulder, and a portion of said front wall of said metal retainer extend in said vertical slot.
 4. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said gauge lip has a sharp lower edge for penetrating said upper edge of said lower wood siding board during swelling of said lower wood siding board.
 5. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 2, wherein said metal retainer also has a tight-fit ridge therein, extending along said shoulder of said upper wood siding board for retaining by friction force said shoulder of said upper wood siding board into said metal retainer.
 6. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 5, wherein a wood grain pattern on said front surface of said upper wood siding board is a mirror image of a wood grain pattern on said front surface of said lower wood siding board.
 7. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 5, wherein a thickness of said apron strip is ¼ inch.
 8. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 5, wherein a spacing of said back surface from said supporting wall is ⅛ inch.
 9. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 3, wherein said metal retainer has a backing structure comprising two C-shaped formations, respectively facing toward opposite directions.
 10. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 9, wherein one of said C-shaped formations has a nail-guiding groove therein.
 11. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 9, comprising a plurality of said metal retainers and wherein said front walls on said metal retainers have a same width as a dimension inside one of said C-shaped formations, so that said front wall of one of said metal retainers can be nested in said one of said C-shaped formations on another one of said metal retainers.
 12. A wood siding system comprising upper and lower wood siding boards mounted to a supporting wall; each of said upper and lower wood siding boards having a front surface, a back surface, an upper edge; a lower edge, and a tapering cross-section; said lower edge having an apron strip and a shoulder thereon; said apron strip of said upper wood siding board overlapping said upper edge of said lower wood siding board; air circulation gaps extending between said apron strip of said upper siding board and said front surface of said lower siding board; between said lower edge of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board, and between said back surfaces of said upper and lower wood siding boards and said supporting wall; said front surface of said upper wood siding board having a first wood grain pattern thereon, said front surface of said lower wood siding board having a second wood grain pattern thereon, and said first wood grain pattern being a mirror image of said second wood grain pattern.
 13. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 12, also comprising a metal retainer mounted to said supporting wall between said upper and lower wood siding boards; said metal retainer having a spacing gauge lip thereon extending between said shoulder of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board for maintaining an even mounting distance between said shoulder of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board.
 14. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 13, wherein said metal retainer has a front wall, and said lower edge of said upper wood siding board has a vertical slot therein between said apron strip and said shoulder, and a portion of said front wall of said metal retainer extends in said vertical slot for retaining said lower edge of said upper siding board to said supporting wall.
 15. A wood siding system comprising an upper wood siding board and a lower wood siding board mounted to a supporting wall; each of said upper and lower wood siding boards having a front surface, a back surface, an upper edge; a lower edge, and a tapered cross-section; said lower edge having an apron strip, a shoulder and a vertical slot between said shoulder and said apron strip; said apron strip of said upper wood siding board overlapping said upper edge of said lower wood siding boards; said apron strip of said upper wood siding board being held at a distance from said front surface of said lower wood siding board; said back surfaces of said upper wood siding board and said lower siding board being held parallel and in a coplanar arrangement with each other and at a same distance from said supporting wall; and a plurality of metal retainers mounted to said supporting wall between said upper wood siding board and said lower wood siding board, each of said metal retainers having a thickness measured from said supporting wall, and a front wall extending between said apron of said upper wood siding board and said front surface of said lower wood siding board; a portion of said front wall extending in said vertical slot; and a spacing gauge lip thereon extending between said shoulder of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board for maintaining an even mounting distance between said shoulder of said upper wood siding board and said upper edge of said lower wood siding board; such that air circulation gaps are maintained between said upper wood siding board and said lower wood siding board and between said upper and lower wood siding boards and said supporting wall; said metal retainer also has a tight-fit ridge thereon, extending along said shoulder of said upper wood siding board for retaining said shoulder in said metal retainer during a shrinking of said upper wood siding board.
 16. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 15, wherein a wood grain pattern on said front surface of said upper wood siding board is a mirror image of a wood grain pattern on said front surface of said lower wood siding board.
 17. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 15, wherein said backing structure comprising two C-shaped formations, respectively facing in opposite directions and one of said C-shaped formations has a nail-guiding groove therein.
 18. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 15, comprising a plurality of said metal retainers and wherein said front wall on each of said metal retainers has a same width as a dimension inside one of said C-shaped formations, so that said front wall of one of said metal retainers can be nested in said one of said C-shaped formations on another one of said metal retainers.
 19. The wood siding board as claimed in claim 15, wherein said spacing gauge lip has a sharp lower edge for penetrating said upper edge of said lower wood siding board during swelling of said lower wood siding board.
 20. The wood siding system as claimed in claim 15, wherein a thickness of said apron strip is ¼ inch. 